Why Jamie Takes the Cake - Recipe: Jamie's Perfect Roast Chicken

Source: really short from NYC, USA (wikimedia commons)

As a new food blogger, I thought that it was only right that  I pay homage to the celebrity chef that has been a constant source of inspiration to me. While I do love a good gourmet meal now and then, I am a home chef by and large, thus, I have tended to gravitate towards real food by real people such as Rachel Ray, Emeril Lagasse, Amy Beh and Nigella Lawson. I have to say that although there are certainly many talented chefs out there, I am an avid Jamie Oliver, a.k.a The Naked Chef, fan. 

So, in no particular order, I present to you, dear readers, 10 Reasons (in my humble opinion) Why Jamie Takes the Cake:

• He was one of the first celebrity chefs in the UK to advocate on the issue of food sustainability;
• He cares about children. I remember watching "Jamie's School Dinners" for the first time and being moved by his enthusiasm and exuberance;
• His recipes capitalize on the natural goodness of food, without being overly seasoned, treated or blasted half to death;
• Moreover, his no-fuss approach to cooking doesn't make you feel overwhelmed. In his words, "cooking has got to be a laugh." The Naked Chef welcomes you into his kitchen, partakes in a glass or two while he prepares the food.  It feels as though he is having a conversation with you, rather than instructing. He assures you that while you may have never attended Cordon Bleu, you can still prepare great food at home;
• His recipes are detailed and personalised. Unlike other chefs that I know that jealously guard their secrets, he's always been open about lessons that he's learned;
• Having dined at Fifteen some years back, I was impressed not just by its mission but how great the food was;
• He loves a bacon sarnie, which indicates that at the heart of it, he's an old-fashioned, solid, British chap;
• He is good to dogs; 
• He is unabashed in his affection towards Jules, and as a die hard romantic, that melts my heart;
• He's just so darn cute, with his impishness and his mop of hair, and a hint of a tummy that is a sign of a happy man. He's probably the only guy that I know that can look adorable dressed like a giant crustacean.

Roast Chicken is one of those dinners I've experimented generously with. I've previously used an old recipe by Jamie that features loads of butter and where you chop up prosciutto and stuff in between the skin of the bird and the meat. I've tried flavouring the roast with oranges, spice rubs, all sorts of herbs, and Asian seasonings. I've also tried the French style of cooking which requires you to turn the chicken over several times to even out the browning process, and to baste the bird with the pan juices every ten minutes. What I liked about this particular recipe (see original here), which was the centerpiece of a recent dinner party, was the ease in which it came together. I did make several minor modifications to it, which I'm indicating below, but overall, I was very happy with the results. Do try to get an organic chicken, as I did this time around - the difference between the results you would get from a chicken from the pasar and the supermarket is like day and night. The roast was tender and juicy at the same time, according to my guests. So thanks, and cheers, Jamie!

Serves 4 

Ingredients:

1 x approximately 1.6kg chicken, preferably free-range, organic or higher welfare

2 medium onions 

2 carrots

2 sticks of celery

1 bulb of garlic

olive oil 

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 lemon 

a small bunch of fresh thyme, rosemary, bay or sage, or a mixture 

To prepare your chicken:

• Take your chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before it goes into the oven 

• Preheat your oven to 240°C/475°F/gas 9 

• There’s no need to peel the vegetables – just give them a wash and roughly chop them 

• Break the garlic bulb into cloves, leaving them unpeeled 

• Pile all the veg and garlic into the middle of a large roasting tray and drizzle with olive oil 

• Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper, rubbing it all over the bird 

• Carefully prick the lemon all over, using the tip of a sharp knife (if you have a microwave, you could pop the lemon in these for 40 seconds at this point as this will really bring out the flavour) 

• Put the lemon inside the chicken’s cavity, with the bunch of herbs) 

To cook your chicken:

• Place the chicken on top of the vegetables in the roasting tray and put it into the preheated oven 

• Turn the heat down immediately to 200°C/400°F/gas 6 and cook the chicken for 1 hour and 20 minutes 

• If you’re doing roast potatoes and veggies, this is the time to crack on with them – get them into the oven for the last 45 minutes of cooking 

• Baste the chicken halfway through cooking and if the veg look dry, add a splash of water to the tray to stop them burning 

• When cooked, take the tray out of the oven and transfer the chicken to a board to rest for 15 minutes or so 

• Cover it with a layer of tinfoil and a tea towel and put aside. Now is the time to make your gravy.

Serve, carved, at the table, together with gravy and side dishes of your choice. 

Modifications/Suggestions:

• I used a baking tray and placed the chicken on a roasting rack instead of directly on the vegetables, as suggested here. I think it helped the browning process. 
• I bought a 1.8 kg chicken, and roasted it for 1 1/2 hours instead. I roasted the bird breast side up first, for about 45 minutes, and then basted it thoroughly with the pan juices before turning it over on its back. After another fiteen minutes, I turned it back over breast side up, again basting it with the pan juices, to crisp the skin.
• I used a combination of all four types of herbs suggested above - generous bunches of rosemary and sage, with a few sprigs of thyme and a bay leaf and the flavour was great
• Be careful about microwaving the lemon. I had the juice squirt into my eye and it was hot!
• Instead of water, I added about 1/2 cup of light chicken stock to the tray. This not only added flavour to the roast, but provided a good base for the gravy later. 

Why I Still Bite Off More Chilli than I Can Chew - Recipe: Black Pepper Udon with Chicken

This post is dedicated to the kid in all of us.  In Malaysia, as with elsewhere in Southeast Asia, where spice is king, local culture celebrates the ability to take spiciness as a form of machismo.  Both my parents absolutely love chillies – a bowl of sliced chilli padi in soy sauce always accompanies our meals at home. I still marvel at how my father dumps dollops and dollops of sambal belacan into his bowl of laksa as if it is an ice cream topping, or snacks on the pickled green chilli at the table at Chinese restaurants while waiting for the food to arrive. 

As a child, I was terribly ambitious. I wanted to be able to do all the things that adults could, which in my family meant, cranking up the heat level in my food. KLites might remember the old Raintree Club, one of the first private country clubs in the Klang Valley. Weekends in the eighties for us meant tennis for the parents, swimming for the kids, coconut juice by the pool, to be followed by yong tau foo or curry laksa. On this particular occasion, this author decided that she wanted to have her laksa just like the adults did. Although my sister warned me, I piled on the belacan and in addition, sprinkled chilli  padi all over the noodles. And even though my mouth was burning, my nose was running and my eyes were tearing almost unbearably, I ate the whole thing, including greedily drinking all the gravy. While it’s safe to say that I survived the experience, very soon I found my lips puffing up. A red, angry circle of inflamed skin enclosed my lips. If memory serves me correctly, my sister would have gotten quite a kick out of making fun of me, except she too had decided to follow in my footsteps so we both returned home, tail between our legs, with our very swollen lips that evening.

I was reminded of this episode from my childhood the other day when G and I were tucking into the Black Pepper Udon that I had prepared:

G: Pass me the chilli, can?
Me: Mad, ah, you? It’s pretty spicy as it is.
G: I know, but cannot resistlah.
Me: Hehe...same here...aiyo, die, die, die.... damn hot!
(Chomp, chomp, coupled with “ssss” and “ooh” and “aahhh”)

There are only three things that I know that can cut the burning sensation if you’ve had too much heat: i) white bread, ii) a spoonful of rice and iii) a glass of milk. I’m convinced that water actually makes it worse. Seeing as I had none of those things on hand, I gravitated toward my trusty sauvignon blanc to do the trick. What can I say? There’s something about the simultaneously pleasurable and painful experience of biting off more chilli than you can chew that is just too good to resist. As they say in Singapore, so shiok!

Most Asian noodle dishes are pretty flexible so you can substitute the vegetables according to what you have handy – the only thing I would insist upon is grinding the black pepper in your mortar and pestle or spice grinder specially for this dish.

Ingredients:

100 g chicken fillet
Dash Maggi seasoning
1-2 tsp soy sauce
Pinch of salt, sugar and white pepper
1 tsp Shao Xing rice wine
1 tsp cornflour

In a bowl, marinate chicken fillet with Maggi seasoning, soy sauce, salt, sugar, pepper and rice wine to taste. Add cornflour and mix well. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the ingredients for the noodles.

Sauce:
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
½-1 tsp dark soy sauce for colour
¾ tsp sugar
½ tbsp Shao Xing rice wine
2-3 tbsp water

In a bowl mix together sauce ingredients and set aside.

Noodles:
2 x 200g packets fresh udon noodles, at room temperature
2-3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp sesame oil
3-4 thin slices young ginger, peeled
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ head (about 100 g) of a medium round cabbage, tough centre core removed, leaves sliced thinly
1 medium carrot, sliced into desired shapes
4 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked until soft, and sliced thinly
80 g button mushrooms, sliced
½ red capsicum, sliced thinly
½ green capsicum, sliced thinly
Handful of small bean sprouts (optional)
10-15 black peppercorns, coarsely crushed
Chopped coriander leaves and chilli strips to garnish

Heat wok or non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. First prepare chicken. Add about 1 tbsp of oil and swirl to coat the pan.  Mix chicken in the bowl and add to the pan. Stir-fry for about 5 minutes or until just cooked. Dish up and set aside. Add additional 2 tbsp of oil and sesame oil to the pan. Add garlic and ginger and fry for thirty seconds or until fragrant. Add carrot, shitake mushrooms and button mushrooms and stir-fry briskly for a minute. Add capsicum and fry for an additional minute. Add cabbage and udon noodles. Scatter pepper over and pour sauce ingredients into the pan. Lower heat, and toss well. Add  chicken and bean sprouts if using and fry noodles for an additional 3-4 minutes or until just done. Garnish with coriander leaves and chilli strips. Serve hot.

The Pick-Me-Up Package - Recipe: Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup

The "Package"

You know that you're maybe a little obsessed with cooking when the second thing (the first being the overwhelming desire to "mother" the person) that comes to your mind after you hear that someone is under the weather is, "Hmm...what can I cook to make him feel better?" Now, I'm no doctor, but I've always been a believer in the healing powers of a hot, steaming bowl of home-made soup. A couple of days ago I put together a thermos of chicken noodle soup, a recipe which I picked up from my days in the US, together with fresh fruit for B, who was down with a cold. Life is so fast-paced these days that most home cooks no longer have the time to make chicken stock from scratch, but the results are far superior and much more nutritious. I recommend this soup for tummy upsets, the cold/flu and generally, if you're looking for some old-fashioned goodness.

Simmering over low heat allows the flavours to develop 

Serves 2-3 as a main course

For the stock:
2 l. water
2 chicken carcass or a mix of chicken bones from the breast, drumsticks and thighs (Kampung chicken recommended because of the lower fat content)
About 500 g of chicken parts, skin removed and bones in tact (I used chicken thighs and breast)
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs thyme
1 large carrot, cut into large chunks
2 stalks celery, cut into large chunks
1 small turnip, cut into large chunks
1 large brown onion, quartered
2 cloves garlic, unpeeled
10 black peppercorns
A pinch of sea salt

In a large stock pot, bring cold water, chicken parts and chicken bones to boil over medium heat. Let it boil for about 10 minutes, skimming off the scum and fat that rises to the surface. Lower heat and simmer, covered, for about 1/2 hour. Remove chicken thighs/breast with a pair of thongs, and set aside. Return pot to simmer, add herbs and vegetables as well as the peppercorns and salt for another 1 to 1 1/12 hours, checking occasionally and topping up with additional water if necessary. When cool enough to handle, strip the meat from the bones of the chicken parts and return the bones to the stock pot. Reserve meat and keep covered. Strain soup through a fine mesh sieve, pressing  all the liquid from the vegetables and chicken. Defat the broth if there is a thick layer of fat on the top.

For the soup:
2 tbsps butter
1 medium brown onion, chopped
2 medium sized carrots, cut into half-discs
2 stalks celery, sliced thinly
150 g button mushrooms, sliced
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of thyme
1/4 cup petit pois (optional)
1 cup baby spinach (optional)
2 coils of tagliatelle (or closest substitute to wide egg noodles)
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

To garnish:
2 tbsps chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
Fried shallots (optional)

In a clean, heavy-bottomed sauce pan, heat butter over medium-low heat.  When butter is melted, add onion and sweat gently for about 3-4 minutes until soft. Add carrots and celery and fry for another 5 minutes. Add  mushrooms and herbs and fry gently until mushrooms just release their liquid. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Pour in chicken stock and bring to a gentle boil. Add chicken meat and petit pois and simmer for an additional 5-7 minutes.

On a separate burner, bring a medium sized pot of water to boil. Add a pinch of salt and cook tagliatelle according to package instructions, about 5 minutes. Strain well and refresh with cold, running water from the tap to stop the cooking process. Cut noodles into 2 inch ribbons with a pair of scissors.

When you are about ready to serve, stir in baby spinach and noodles. Garnish with parsley and fried shallots.

Finding Friendship in Unexpected Places- Recipe: Ayam Masak Kicap

"Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh the thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away. " - Eliot, G. 

With so many of the people that I love now scattered in various parts of the world - Kuala Lumpur, London, Boston, Hong Kong, Perth -  it's become difficult for me, especially in recent years, to keep those precious bonds of friendship in tact. And with me being somewhat of a traditionalist when it comes to relationships, I've found emails a terrible substitute for chats over lattes. As I've gotten older, and as my personality, my thoughts and my beliefs have crystallised, I have found it increasingly rare to find a connection with someone that I've just met for the first time. No man (or woman) is an island, that's for sure, but I'm not a terribly extroverted person, and I tend to be quite shy with people that I don't really know. My island at least has been pretty bare of late (haha), safe for a couple of voyagers and a handful of people from my tribe.  At conferences, meetings, cocktail parties and dinners, there are so many introductions and niceties exchanged, but there is rarely a moment that would make you ever want to go out of your way to get to know another better.

And then a couple of weeks ago, I received an invitation for coffee and conversation with a new acquaintance. I had discovered, by accident, or perhaps fate, that B was going through a similar situation as I was. I suspected that we would spend the afternoon discussing serious development issues, which in any case, was welcomed. But as the hours passed, we exchanged stories about our childhood, our life philosophies, and what brought us to Singapore. It was completely unplanned; and as a result, completely spontaneous and refreshing.  The stories kept building upon each other - they were raw, honest and uncensored, and before the end of the night it was like we had, magically, weaved together a quilt of interlocking pieces from our past. Both talking and listening to him seemed so easy, so effortless.

Someone recently told me, "One never knows where one will find a kindred spirit." Here a monk stops to chat to friends outside the Buddha Tiger Tooth Relic temple in Chinatown, Singapore

At some point, we found ourselves at a gerai in Bukit Timah, hungry and a little dehydrated. I asked B what he wanted to eat. He told me what he usually ordered. I stared at him blankly and asked him to repeat. And then it occurred to me that the dish he was requesting for was "Ayam Masak kicap" (translation: Chicken cooked in Black Sauce) but in his Anglicized rendition, it had become "I am key cup." I laughed, and then wondered momentarily if he would be insulted. But to my delight, he laughed with me.

I guess sometimes one finds friendship in unlikely places. As the weeks have gone by, I've discovered that true friendship is like deriving an equation, side by side, with someone that you both trust and care for. It's being able to let one's guard down, to breathe, to be oneself without pretense, fear or insecurity. It's about finding humour in every day situations,  and about the joy and extreme pleasure in finding someone with whom to share the simple things in life - like desert, a good movie, or a walk after the rain. It's about encouraging each other to strive for better things, and helping another find strength in facing the challenges that life throws our way instead of recoiling in fear. I'm going to remember this for life. 

In ode to "I am key cup," I thought that I would attempt to make the dish at home. It's a traditional kampung-style dish that utilises ingredients that are readily available in most Southeast Asian kitchens. Thanks also to my dear friend, Frat Mustard, who recently shared with me this interesting piece of information that the popular "ketchup" has its roots in the humble Kicap.

This post is for you, B for making life, and sinning in Singapore, not only more interesting, but more meaningful.

(A tip for those of you considering making this dish - if you don't want your hands to be stained completely yellow, use gloves before rubbing the chicken pieces with turmeric.)

This dish isn't hard to put together. The deep-frying may seem cumbersome but it helps to retain the flavour of the meat before it is braised, I have been told. I served this with a traditional Balinese coconut rice dish and a side dish of Sambal Asparagus and Beancurd.

Ingredients:
1 kg chicken pieces, such as thighs and drumsticks. Remove skin if preferred.
About 1/2-1 tbsp turmeric powder
Salt and a dash of pepper

2 tbsp olive oil
1 stick cinnamon
2 star anise
3 cloves
3 cardamom
1 inch ginger root, sliced thickly
4 cloves garlic, minced
5 shallots, minced
1-2 tsp. freshly minced red chilly or sambal
1 cup water
1 tbsp. dark caramel soy sauce, the best quality you can find
1 tbsp. light soy sauce
1 tsp. Hoisin sauce
Dash pepper to taste
1 red onion, sliced
Red chilly, sliced thinly, for garnishing (optional)

Wash and dry chicken pieces. In a colander, marinade chicken with turmeric, salt and dash of pepper, rubbing mixture into the meat. Keep aside for 1/2-1 hour. Heat deep-fryer or large wok with oil until hot. Deep-fry chicken pieces, in batches until golden brown. Drain well, and keep aside. (If desired, pat chicken with paper towels to remove excess oil).

Heat non-stick skillet over medium heat and add oil. Add spices and ginger and stir-fry until fragrant. Add shallots and garlic and fry for another 3-5 minutes until lightly golden. Add chilly or sambal, stir fry for another minute or so, before adding chicken pieces. Coat chicken with spices and add about 1 cup of water. Add dark and light soy sauce as well as Hoisin sauce, and a dash of pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning. Simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes. Finally, add onion, stir well, cover and simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve hot, garnished with chilly, if desired.

Recipe: Penne Carbonara with Chicken, Peas and Mushrooms

Pasta Carbonara was a favourite pasta dish among my friends in the US. It's essentially made out of a base sauce comprising eggs, cream and cheese. Although it sounds heavy, it need not necessarily be, if you get the ratio of the ingredients right and you ensure that the pasta is cooked al dente. You want to make sure here that your ingredients for the sauce are at room temperature. The heat from the pasta and the pan will be enough to cook the eggs in the sauce.

Here is my version of this Italian favourite.

Serves 2-3 (or one hungry boy)

Ingredients:
250 g chicken fillet
Chicken seasoning such as Mc Cormick, or Cajun seasoning
250 g good quality penne pasta
Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
100 g button mushrooms, sliced
1 small brown onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2-3 sprigs of thyme
3 eggs at room temperature
1/2 cup whipping cream, at room temperature
3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese, at room temperature
1 tsp chicken stock granules (optional)
sea salt and pepper to taste
Italian parsley, chopped, to garnish (optional)

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add a pinch of sea salt.

In a medium sized bowl, beat eggs with cream. Add chicken granules and season with pepper. Add cheese, stir well to incorporate.

Season chicken fillet with chicken seasoning or cajun seasoning. Heat non-stick skillet with about 2 tbsps of olive oil over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, add chicken fillet. Cook on both sides until nicely brown, about 3-5 minutes each side. Lower heat and cook for another 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked. To test, you may poke a fork through the middle of each fillet. If juices run clear, the chicken is done. Remove to chopping board and leave to cool for a little. Slice into thirds.

When water is boiling, add your pasta and a lug of olive oil. Stir every now and again. Meanwhile, in the same pan used to cook chicken, brown your bacon until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon, and chop into large chunks. Lower heat slightly and add onions, garlic, thyme and mushroom. Season lightly with salt and pepper. When mushrooms have released their liquid, add your peas and stir well. Turn off heat.

When pasta is cooked, drain well. Working quickly, tip drained pasta into skillet containing your mushroom mixture. Return chicken and bacon to the pan and mix well. Add sauce ingredients, and stir well to coat pasta. Season with additional salt and pepper if required, and garnish with parseley. Serve immediately.

Recipe: Homestyle Chicken Pie

I've been overwhelmed with work lately. I start off each week with a list of things to do, only to find at the end of the week the list has doubled, if not tripled. In a bid to stay sane, I decided to take a night off and spend five hours labouring over the stove. I've been working on this recipe for a few years, and the secret really is making in the chunky pieces of chicken and fresh vegetables and herbs. I know there are many short cut recipes out there, which use cream of mushroom or chicken soup as a base, and frozen vegetables, but if you can spare the time, this recipe really takes the cake.

Ingredients:

For the chicken base:
About 3 cups homemade chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 carrot, sliced thickly
1 stick celery, sliced thickly
A couple of black peppercorns
500 g chicken fillet

Bring chicken stock to boil, add bay leaf, carrot, celery and peppercorns and simmer for about 20 minutes. Poach chicken fillet for about 7-10 minutes until just cooked. Drain, discard excess vegetables, and reserve stock. When cool enough to handle, slice fillet into thirds or halves, depending on the size.

For the pie filling:
3 tbsp butter
3-4 slices smoked streaky bacon
1 large brown onion, chopped (substitute leek if desired)
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1 stick celery, chopped
1 -2 carrots, chopped into chunks
1/2 red capsicum, chopped
200 g white button mushrooms, sliced
1 bay leaf
2-3 sticks of fresh thyme, stocks removed, and chopped
1 tsp chicken stock granules or chicken seasoning (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup plain flour
1/2 -3/4 cup chicken stock (from above)
1 cup whipping cream
3/4 cup frozen petit pois peas, rinsed under cold water and drained

Heat large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add butter to the pan and wait till the bubbles subside. Brown bacon on both sides, about 3-5 minutes, until fat is rendered and just done. Crumble.  Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. In the same pan, add onion, garlic, celery, carrot and capsicum. Fry until soft over medium-low heat, about 7-10 minutes. Add mushrooms, season with chicken seasoning/salt and pepper, and let the mixture sweat for about 3-4 minutes. Add in bay leaf and thyme. When mushrooms have just released their liquid, add in flour, stir around for about 1-2 minutes until slightly brown. Add stock and whipping cream, and increase heat slightly. When simmering, add in crumbled bacon, chicken fillet and frozen peas. Stir frequently, adding extra stock if necessary until you reach the desired consistency. (The filling should have the consistency of a thick stew). Pour mixture into pie plate, cover with cling film and cool till at least room temperature. (Note: In tropical Asian countries, you cannot afford a hot pie filling as it will totally melt your pastry. I used to be a purist, making the pastry from scratch, but these days I've gotten lazy.)

To finish:
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed for about 5 minutes
1 egg yolk, beaten lightly

About 20 minutes before you are ready to bake your pie, heat oven to about 200 degrees Celcius. Working quickly, glaze the rim of your pie plate with the egg. Drape pastry over, ensuring that it covers the dish completely. Using a fork, make patterns along the side of the pie plate. If there is excess pastry, you can use a cookie cutter to make shapes to decorate the top of the pie. Cut a deep X in the middle of the pie and glaze with egg yolk.

Bake in the middle of the oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. The filling will be bubbling gently now, and the pastry nice and crisp.

Cool for 15 minutes before serving with a lovely green salad on the side.

Recipe: Chicken Chop with Mushroom Sauce

This is one of those dishes I grew up with. It is sort of standard fare in most pseudo-"Western" restaurants in Southeast Asia, alongside Spring Chicken and steak. Among the many Chinese dialects that settled in Malaya, the Hainanese (men, in particular) are especially known for their superior culinary skills. During the colonial period, the British hired Hainenese chefs to work in the kitchens of their exclusive country clubs and restaurants. You can still find the remnants of these colonial vestiges in Kuala Lumpur, for example, at the Coliseum restaurant, with its wine-stained white table cloths and smoke-filled cigar room, albeit the staff is much more multicultural these days.

I suppose you cannot really go wrong with fried chicken, especially one that is boneless and therefore easy to cut. I've been experimenting with this for several years now and last night, decided to bread it before deep-frying.

Serves two
Ingredients:
2 boneless chicken legs

Marinade:
Dash Worcestershire Sauce
Dash soy sauce
Dash Maggi seasoning
Dash pepper
Pinch of sugar

Marinade chicken for several hours or overnight if possible.

Breading:
Plain flour
1 egg, beaten lightly
1 cup of breadcrumbs, mixed together with 1 tbsp cornflour, 1 tsp baking soda, and a pinch of salt and pepper

Heat oil in deep fryer until hot. Drain chicken, and dust lightly with plain flour. Dip into egg and then breading. Deep-fry until crust is set and golden brown, about 7-10 minutes. To test if cooked, prick the chicken with a fork. The juices should be clear. Drain.

Mushroom sauce:
2 tbsp butter
1 small brown onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
5-7 button mushrooms, sliced
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 cup water or chicken stock

Seasoning
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
1/4 tsp dark soy sauce, for colour (optional)
1 tsp chicken granules
1/2 tsp sugar
Freshly cracked black pepper and salt

Cornstarch slurry:
2 tsp corn starch
2 tbsp water

In a skillet, melt butter. Add chopped onion and garlic and fry on low-medium heat until soft. Add in mushrooms, season lightly with salt and pepper and add thyme. When mushrooms have released their liquid, add stock/water, bay leaf and seasoning ingredients. Simmer for 5 minutes. If you like your sauce a little thicker, add cornstarch slurry, stir, and dish up.

Serve chicken chop with sauce.

p.s. You might have gathered by now that my brother has a rather healthy appetite. The dainty portions in the above picture were just to make everything look pretty. I woke up around midnight last night and he remarked sheepishly that it was all gone. :)

The real deal